According to recent data from Florida Realtors, the state's housing market gained strength in the first quarter of 2013, with increased closed sales, more pending sales, higher median prices and a reduced supply of homes for sale compared to the same quarter in 2012.
‘The first three months of 2013 demonstrate that Florida's housing market is gaining momentum and continuing to bolster the state's economy,’ says Florida Realtors President Dean Asher , broker-owner with Don Asher & Associates Inc. in Orlando. ‘It's taking less time to sell a home, and, coupled with tight inventory, that shows buyers are eager to lock in historically low mortgage interest rates and take advantage of favorable, but rising, prices.’
Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 48,976 in 1Q 2013, up 10.2%. Pending sales (contracts that are signed but not yet completed or closed) for existing single-family homes rose 26.8% in the first quarter compared to the 1Q 2012 figure. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes in 1Q 2013 was $153,000, up 13.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
Looking at Florida's year-to-year comparison for sales of townhouse-condos, a total of 24,655 units sold statewide in the first quarter, up 3.2% from the first three months of 2012. Pending sales for townhouse-condos in 1Q 2013 increased 13.7% compared to a year ago, while the statewide median for townhouse-condo properties was $116,000, up 18.4% over the same quarter last year.
In 1Q 2013, the median days on market (the midpoint of the number of days it took for a property to sell that month) was 60 days for both single-family homes and for townhouse-condo properties.
The inventory for single-family homes stood at a 5.3-months' supply for 1Q 2013; inventory for townhouse-condos was at a 5.8-months' supply for the same period, according to Florida Realtors.